Natchez, Mississippi

Friday, October 30 2014

While in Vicksburg we took a day trip to Natchez.  Natchez is about 70 miles downriver on the Mississippi.

Natchez is the only city and the county seat of Adams County.  It is named for the Natchez Native Americans who inhabited the area.  Natchez was settled by French Colonists in 1716; it is the oldest city on the Mississippi River.

We began our day at the Natchez Visitor Center...

We explored the exhibits of which many pertained to the cotton industry and the Natchez Indians.

cotton

 It was here that we gathered information and decided what to see.  Located within this Visitor Center is the Natchez National Park Visitor Center.  We picked up information from them as well.

Our first stop was at Bluff Park.  This is a very nice park with great views of the Mississippi River.  There is also a nice walking trail.  I'm sure, Becky and David, that you will enjoy it.

Just below this park lies Natchez Under-the-Hill...

19th century Natchez was split into two cities ~ "proper" and "improper."  Natchez proper was the town on top of the bluff, while Natchez improper was the boat landing beneath the bluff, or "under-the-hill."  Natchez Under-the-Hill was one of the rowdiest ports along the river; saloons, gambling and slave trading took place here. It was here that the keel boats, flatboats and later the steamboats docked.  The keel boats and flatboats were designed for down-river travel only.  When their destination of Natchez was reached, the boats cargo was unloaded; the boats were dismantled and the wood sold for firewood or lumber. The pilots of these boats began their long walks along the Natchez Trace to Ohio and other points north.  This is the southern most part of the Trace.  It ends in Memphis.

Natchez Under-the-Hill as it looks today...

Isle of Capri. now a casino and hotel

We visited the Rosalie Mansion; a historic pre-Civil War mansion.  It is significant for its Greek Revival style influence on antebellum architecture. During the Civil War it served as Union Headquarters for the Natchez area.   While the home is open for tours we were mainly interested in the grounds and the architecture of the home...

We then headed to Forks in the Road...

Forks of the Road was the second highest slave market in the United States.  The Y-intersection of Washington Rd./Natchez Trace, Old Courthouse Rd. and St. Catherine street housed Natchez's slave market after an 1833 ordinance prohibited the sale of slaves within the city's limits.  The Forks of the Road was a slave market but slave auctions were not conducted on the site; the area acted much more like a slave store than an auction house. The slave market operated until it was shut down and demolished by Union troops in 1863. 

shows routes of slave traders

these shackles, displayed in cement, are a reminder of a
terrible time in our nations history

The Grand Village is where we learned about the Natchez Indians...

The Grand Village was the main ceremonial center for the Natchez Indians, who lived in what is now southwest Mississippi as long ago as 700 AD.  The Natchez were the largest and strongest populations on the lower Mississippi when Louisiana was settled by the French.

examples of their basketry

the intricate circle and swirl pattern shows their high level of
cultural development at the time of European contact. These
ceramics were often found buried in the funeral mounds.

living quarters

burial mounds. reserved for the high ranking Natchez

Grand Village is on the National Register of Historic Places and is now used as pow-wow grounds.


Last, but not least, we visited the Natchez National Park...

The Melrose Mansion, a cotton plantation, was considered by many to be the finest home in all of the Natchez Region.  As Melrose was one of the most intact antebellum estates in the South, the National Park Service purchased the estate in 1990 to illustrate slavery and the antebellum plantar class.  Melrose along with Fort Rosalie (closed for renovations) and the William Johnson House form the Natchez National Park.

undergoing a face lift

this building was formerly the kitchen, now houses
the visitors center

this building housed the dairy

privy. so grateful for modern conveniences!

Virginia live oak. love these trees

sitting on the jostling board

slave quarters

cistern

lid on cistern

We then made our way to the William Johnson house...

Known as the Barber of Natchez, William Johnson was born into slavery; at age 11 he became a freed African American. It was shortly after he established a barber shop in downtown Natchez that he began to keep a diary.  The diary was a mainstay in his life until his death in 1851. It is from him we learn what life was like for a prominent freedman in Natchez.  Even though he was freedman, Johnson kept 16 slaves.  He was murdered in an ambush at the age of 42.

wall in his house

The home is along the Natchez Trail.  This walking trail leads through a literal trail of Natchez history as it winds through the historic residential and business
area.

We had such a nice day.  We're so glad that we took the time to visit this interesting city.  We fondly refer to it at the city of one-way streets.  There are more one-way streets here than in any other place we've visited.  It kept us on our toes!!

Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper

Vicksburg, Mississippi ~ Part I Civil War Vicksburg

Thursday, October 23 ~ Friday, November 7, 2014

We arrived today in Vicksburg, Mississippi.  While here we're staying at the Ameristar RV Park (down the road from the casino), close to the downtown area.

Casino RV Parks are usually very nice as well as reasonable.  Ameristar is no exception.  The lots are plenty long and fairly wide.

Vicksburg is located about 240 miles northwest of New Orleans, on the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.  Vicksburg is named after Newitt Vick who was a Methodist Minister.

We are looking forward to exploring this city which is so rich in history and culture.  Vicksburg is home to a National Park Battlefield, museums, and antebellum homes.  We were last in Vicksburg in December, 2012; we were here long enough to explore the battlefield; we're looking forward to exploring it in more depth this time around...

Vicksburg National Military Park...

The largest and most complex campaign of the Civil War was fought in Vicksburg.  From the start of the War, control of the Mississippi south of Cairo, Illinois, was vitally important to the Federal Government.  Controlling it would let Union troops and supplies pass into the South.  It would isolate Texas, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana ~ a region crucial to the South for supplies and recruits.  To protect this lifeline, the Confederates built fortifications at strategic river points.  But Federal naval and military forces fought southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf of Mexico, capturing post after post.  By late summer 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana blocked Union control of the Mississippi.  Vicksburg was the stronger and more important post.

After three unsuccessful attempts to take the city, Major General Ulysses S. Grant decided to "out-camp" the Confederates.  He began a formal siege of Vicksburg.  He set up artillery batteries to hammer the Confederate fortifications from the land side, while Admiral David D. Porter's gunboats blasted the city from the river.  During this time, to escape the relentless shelling from the Federal artillery,  many of the citizens of Vicksburg took refuge in caves which they dug into the hillsides.  Single family caves had one or two rooms; others were huge and said to have accommodated 200 people.  To avoid entrapment and induce air circulation, caves often had several entrances.  Cooking took place outside the entrances.  Amenities were preserved with the use of carpets, furnishings and wall niches for books, candles, and flowers.  Because of the widespread use of caves, only a very small number of Vicksburg residents were killed or wounded during the 47 days of the siege.

Without adequate supplies of food and ammunition, on July 3 after 46 days of siege, General Pemberton met with General Grant to discuss the terms of surrender.  On July 4 1863, in the morning, Vicksburg was officially surrendered.  Port Hudson surrendered five days later.

Sights from the Battlefield...

entrance to the Park

example of a fortification

as we wound through the park we crossed the Union Lines,
then the Confederate Lines and back to the Union Lines. at
times the fighting was so close, they resorted to hand-to-hand
 combat

numerous monuments were built to honor those who fought on both sides;
the living as well as the dead

one of the many memorials to the soldiers of Illinois. the
stairway leading up to the entrance of the memorial consists
 of 47 steps representing each day of the Siege of Vicksburg.
  the monument was open for all to enter

on the floor inside the monument

the walls were lined with the names of those who lived &
and died while fighting this battle

the Shirley House. June, 1863. the hillside to the right had
 been completely transformed into a vast network of dugouts
 known as"shebangs." they helped to protect the Union
soldiers from the summer heat as well as Confederate
 guns. when the siege ended, it served the Union army as a
smallpox quarantine hospital. the Shirley House is the only
remaining wartime building inside the military park.

"shebangs"

"shebangs"

one of the many Ohio monuments

all ages fought in this war

monument to the Colored Troops who fought

the following three photos are in the area where General Grants headquarters were located...

monuments are all along the road throughout the park

The USS Cairo (Kay-row), named after Cairo, Illinois was the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo.  She sank in twelve minutes, without any loss of life, on December 12 1862 on the Yazoo river, seven miles north of Vicksburg.  The wreckage of the Cairo was lifted out of 36 feet of water and partially reconstructed.  She now rests in the National Park, near the National Cemetery...

replica of the Cairo as she once looked

view of the ship from outside. the covering is to protect her from the hot sun

Visitors are able to walk on part of the ship...

original wood

Across the street from the Cairo Museum (still within the National Park) lies Vicksburg National Cemetery.  Of the nearly 17,000 Union soldiers buried here, about 13,000 are unknown.  Many Confederates who died during the siege are buried in Vicksburg's Cedar Hill Cemetery.

photo was taken as we were leaving the cemetery

Mississippi River in the background

We continued our drive through the park and crossed the Confederate Line...

Fort Hill. this fort which anchored the northern flank of the
 Confederate lines, was so formidable that no Union attack
 was ever made against it. Confederate gunners posted here
 helped the river batteries sink the Federal gunboat
  Cincinnati on May 27, 1863

Missouri Monument

Arkansas Monument

Texas Monument

Reminders of the Civil War can be found not only on the battlefield, but in the downtown area as well...

General Pemberton's Headquarters (downtown Vicksburg). 

side view of Pemberton's Headquarters

Balfour House (located right next to Pemberton's
Headquarters). 

Christ Episcopal Church. services continued to be held during
 the siege. during the siege all of the stained glass windows,
with the exception of the window depicting the resurrection,
were blown out by heavy artillary

signs such as this one dot the landscape throughout the
 downtown area

these murals, located downtown along the riverfront, tell
 the story of Vicksburg's history

picture of the steamer Sultana

located in the park across from the murals

Soldiers Rest Cemetery is located within Cedar Hill Cemetery

Confederate monument erected to honor the Confederate dead

For the rest of the war Vicksburg was an occupied city and regional base for Federal Operations.  Vicksburg was also a prisoner-of-war exchange point.

Vicksburg's citizens suffered the ignominy of living in an occupied city from July 1863 through Reconstruction.  Civil liberties were suspended and 5,000 United States Colored Troops patrolled the streets.  Loyalty oaths were required of the towns-people, or they could be arrested or banished.  Plantations of persons declared to be an "enemy of the government" were confiscated and leased to carpetbaggers seeking fortunes in cotton speculation.

Mississippi would be readmitted to the Union in February 1870, but Federal troops occupied the city until 1877 when President Rutherford B. Hayes removed them.

Thousands of blacks poured into Vicksburg to exercise their new freedom.  Many enlisted in the Union army.  Skilled artisans among them set up businesses or hired out to rebuild siege-damaged parts of the city.  The Freedman's Bureau opened schools to teach blacks of all ages how to read and write.  Some blacks opened churches or banks, or even entered politics.  Many of these freedoms were restricted or taken away when white rule returned at the end of Reconstruction.  However, the occupation of Vicksburg was so successful that it became the model for reconstruction after the war.


Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper